Video:
Martin post-game Q&A following 12-1 win over UGA
Video:
Gilmartin talks about his performance against UGA
Friday night was the lineup’s first major
test of the season facing number one starter and professional baseball
prospect Justin Grimm of the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Seminoles hitters passed with flying colors.
Florida State eased by the Bulldogs 12-1 in a hit parade of sorts while
benefitting from Sean Gilmartin’s best performance of the season. As a
team, the Seminoles registered 14 hits against Georgia in the win.
But while the Seminoles hitters were lighting up the scoreboard,
Gilmartin was keeping the Georgia lineup off of it.
“There is no question the story of the game was Sean Gilmartin,” said
head coach Mike Martin. “It was an outstanding outing on his part. He
had all three pitches going. It was one of his better games, no doubt
about it. I’m so proud of the way he approaches every game.
“When Gilly has all three pitches going, he is very dominant. And let’s
face it, he was very dominant tonight.”
Gilmartin tied a season-high for innings pitched with seven while tying
a career-high for strikeouts with nine for the game. The only run
surrendered was unearned and the California native kept the Bulldogs
under a one hit per inning ratio allowing only six throughout his
outing.
Gilmartin became the second consecutive starter to refrain from issuing
a walk for the Seminoles and the third of the season. In 2009, Florida
State’s starting pitchers only had four such occasions.
“I felt good,” Gilmartin said. “I got ahead of guys early which is key
for me. I put the ball where it needs to be and changed speeds.
“All four pitches (were working) actually. I threw the curveball a
little tonight. Everything was working, in, out, and down.”
Gilmartin was extremely economical punching out several batters with
only three pitches. 75.5 percent of his 94 pitches found the strike
zone.
The aggressive approach paid huge dividends for the 6-foot-2 southpaw.
“That is just my way of approaching pitching, really, is to just go
after guys,” Gilmartin explained. “I’m not going to go up there and walk
you. If I get to a three ball count, sometimes I will just lay it in
there because I don’t want to walk anybody. I’m just going to go right
after the guy.”
While the jerseys were still red, James Ramsey found a way to hit two
home runs on Friday night following his solo home run against the
Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday in Clearwater, Florida. The right
fielder put together a 2-for-2 performance at the plate driving in a
career high four RBI, and also reaching base twice via a hit by pitch.
Despite his individual production, Ramsey still feels like his spot in
the lineup aids his accomplishments from the plate.
“It was just another opportunity to get out there and play with a great
group of guys,” said Ramsey. “Hitting behind Holt, hitting in front of
Cardullo, it’s just a lot of fun.”
Coach Martin made the decision to put Ramsey in the second spot in the
lineup on opening day against Georgia State back in February. So far, it
looks like the decision was quite a good one.
“I have been very pleased with Rammer,” Martin said. “He’s got the
ability to do what he did tonight. You just don’t want him to go up
there and do anything other than what he did tonight and get good swings
on the ball and he has certainly been doing that.”
True freshman Justin Gonzalez continued his strong hitting at the plate
capping off the fourth inning with a three-run bomb scoring not only
himself, but also Stephen Cardullo and Sherman Johnson. On the season,
Gonzalez .455 with two home runs and 11 RBI – ranking fourth on the team
in batting average.
Designated hitter and third baseman Stuart Tapley extended his hitting
streak to 13 games following his fourth inning single. Tapley is tied
for first on the team with Cardullo and Ramsey with a .480 batting
average.
Florida State’s 12-1 win was the largest margin of victory since the
Seminoles defeated Georgia 16-4 back in 1959.
Saturday’s matchup features Seminoles left handed starter John Gast who
like Gilmartin, will also be gunning for his third victory in as many
starts at 6:00 p.m. Gast is scheduled to pitch against Georgia’s right
hander Jeff Walters who has a 5.91 ERA and no record in ten games.
|
